The present invention relates to a carrier arrangement for receiving goods to be carried on the roof of a motor vehicle. The present invention more particularly includes two carrying members being arranged at a distance from one another and laterally with respect to the car roof. The carrying members are preferably fixed laterally onto the car roof cappings and/or car roof canals, respectively.
Conventional carrier arrangements known from practice are composed essentially of carrying bows, which offer considerable flow resistance during vehicle movement. Also, due to the distance between the car roof and the carrier, such conventional carrier arrangements will cause turbulences that can result in a lifting of at least the roof carrier so that normal travel speeds, as compared to vehicles without such carrying bows, cannot be maintained for safety reasons.
In order to reduce flow resistance during movement of the vehicle a suggestion has been made in the art to cover the respective carrying bows so as to improve the aerodynamics thereof. However, the covering in accordance with such prior art suggestion is not intended for carrying weight.
Also, since such carrying bows are typically covered at a later time, this will result in the disadvantage that they must be specially adapted to a particular car type or to a particular carrying bow size in order to obtain the desired reduction of flow resistance. Very often the covering will also terminate above the car roof thus making it impossible to stop the undesired turbulences and the wind noises being incidental thereto.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a carrier arrangement of the kind as mentioned above having simple construction without any additional covering so that the flow resistance of the carrier arrangement during movement of the vehicle will be considerably reduced. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to prevent the airstream from flowing underneath the carrier arrangement so that travel speed reduction will not become necessary. Moreover, the construction of the present invention is also easy to manufacture, does not require much maintenance during its service, and prevents damages to the carrier arrangement by corrosive attack. The carrier arrangement of the present invention is aesthetically attractive so that the general appearance of a motor vehicle equipped with the carrier arrangement is not essentially impaired. In addition thereto, mounting of a carrier arrangement of the present invention can also be accomplished on motor vehicles which do not have a roof canal.
According to the present invention, the above objects are achieved by providing a pair of carrying members which are composed of a body resting on the car roof either indirectly or directly. The body on the side of the oncoming stream of air is ascendingly sloped starting from the car roof to reduce the resistance to air flow thereacross. In other words, the covering end on the roof side and on the side of the oncoming airstream is preferably wedge-shaped. Further, the carrying member preferably can also be provided as a cup-shaped hollow body open to the roof side, of which the surface on the side of the oncoming airstream to the motor vehicle defines an angle greater than 0. In such a manner, a spoiler-like shape is obtained.
According to the present invention, a carrier arrangement is provided which has abandoned the concepts of conventional carrying bows and has completely replaced them by plastic bodies. The flow resistance of a motor vehicle having the carrier arrangement according to the invention is reduced as compared to conventional carrier arrangements due to the bodies' spoiler-like design. Since the carrying members are tightly resting upon the car roof, it is guaranteed that the air during travel cannot flow underneath them so that turbulences and disturbing travel wind noises are excluded.
In addition thereto, lateral mounting on a bar can be provided due to the carrier elements resting directly on the roof which is not possible with conventional carriers or carriers having only expensive constructions when using carrying bows mounted a distance away from the roof. There is also the choice that the carrying members of the present invention can be fixed on the roof by means of countersunk nuts or thread bores, for example.
A surrounding rubber strip is provided at least along the front and lateral contact surfaces of the carrying members in order to guarantee a safe and rigid seat for the spoiler-like bodies. Also the strip can be mounted on a rubber plate or the like. By virtue of the rubber strip or the rubber plate, a suction effect is obtained relative to the car roof so that a perfect seat is guaranteed.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the carrying member is composed of a plate-shaped base member and in longitudinal direction of which is preferably defined a slit into which members of an aerodynamically sound configuration can be placed with their surfaces facing the oncoming airstream. Furthermore, supporting means for baggage grids, bicycle carriers, trunk boxes, surfboard supports or the like, can be provided so that the base member has its surface facing the roof of the motor vehicle while at least its front and side regions have a strip covering the front and lateral edges of the base member.
Thus, the present invention with its base member resting on the car roof and provided with a rubber strip covering its front and lateral edges affords a body-adaptable roof plate which produces only minimum airstream resistance. Moreover, the present invention is not readily visible since a smooth surface is defined between the car roof and the base member so that no visual interruption (as is the case with conventional carrier arrangements) occurs. Thus, a conscious perception of the carrier arrangement of the present invention is not established.
The base member is the initial structure upon which baggage grids, bicycle supports, trunk boxes, surfboard carriers or the like are mounted. In order that these members will not cause any negative influence on the air flow, members of aerodynamically sound configuration are detachably mounted on the base members. Thus, such aerodynamic members together with the base member and the surrounding rubber strip will define a wedge-shaped form. This will result in the aerodynamics being extremely stream-sound and thus will minimally influence the travelling behavior of a motor vehicle.
Regardless of whether the carrying member is composed of a single homogeneous body with a rubber strip or of a base member with rubber strip members of aerodynamically sound configuration mounted thereon, the body or the base member can be fastened on the car roof either indirectly or directly (with or without the rubber strip) by means of fastening devices projecting laterally from the body or the base member, respectively, and being displaceable relative thereto. Thus, such fastening devices like hooks or claws for the load-carrying support in the lateral region of the car roof are provided and are preferably connected to one another by a pulling means, such as a tackle or a rod mechanism which is disposed inside the body, so that the distance of the fastening devices can be adjustable for adapting them to various car roofs by changing the length of the pulling means. This embodiment offers the advantage that an adaptation to different fastening places is possible for different vehicle types without changing the outer dimensions of the body or base member. Of course, the respective fastening devices should be made displaceable relative to the lateral faces of the body. In order to increase or decrease the distance between the fastening devices, one merely needs to shorten or lengthen the pulling means. As the load transfer takes place on the reinforced lateral region of the car roof, the direct resting of the carrier upon the car roof will not deform the roof.
Preferably, the fastening devices are hinged to the pulling means exterior of the body or base member so that the pulling means can be manipulated to provide rough adjustment of the distance between the fastening devices. To permit such adjustment, first sections are movable against each other, of which one of the first sections includes projections while the other defines matching recesses. Precise adjustment of the fastening devices can be established by second sections which are preferably connected to one another by means of a counter-threaded sleeve. Thus, since the fine adjustment structures limit the torque, safe mounting on the car roof can be made without any resulting risk of deformation of the motor vehicle.
The connection between the pulling means and the fastening means is articulated and thus guarantees in case of an accident that a sufficient force absorption will take place in this region so that the risk of unintended detaching of the carrier arrangement from the roof of a motor vehicle is practically impossible.
The simple mounting of the carrier arrangement is therefore guaranteed by the pulling means having rigid sections being provided with the above-mentioned projections or recesses, respectively. The projections are displaceable along the recesses in one direction only and thus when the pulling means is shortened during rough adjustment, a desired distance between the fastening devices can be obtained and consequently adaptation to the respective width of the car roof is provided.
After rough adjustment is established, fine adjustment of the pulling means can be made by manipulation with a tool of a counter-threaded sleeve. Since the pulling means is disposed inside of the body or the base member, the tool can be inserted through a slit defined in the body or base member, respectively. In order to prevent theft, the tool can have a special form and consequently the slit will also be of special form so that no access to the counter-thread sleeve is premitted with normal tools and/or wrenches. The counter-threaded sleeve, of course, can be replaced by any other suitable means with equal function.
If the base member is an integral body with a rubber plate or rubber strip arranged on the face thereof, the body is then provided with several recesses for accommodating goods and/or supporting means for the goods. The recesses are preferably configured like slits, funnels, cones, or the like so that skis, for example, can be directly mounted therein. According to another embodiment, adapters can be placed in the recesses to serve as fastening means for e.g. baggage grids, surfboard carriers, bicycle supports or trunk boxes. Thus, one need only install the proper adapters in order to mount the required holding means for the objects to be transported.
Due to the spoiler-like configuration of the carrier as well as the direct resting thereof on the car roof, there is the further advantage that e.g. ski bindings projecting between the carrying means are largely protected during transport so that additional protective devices are not required. This feature is due to the fact that the region between the holding means is sheltered from wind.
In order to furnish safe fastening of the adapters or of objects directly placed into the recesses like skis for example, a locking device, preferably a rubber-metal tube-bow or a similar tubular member, is provided above the top region of the bodies. Preferably, the locking member is provided with a lock and key. In this regard, the locking device, on its free end, includes a projection insertable into the body and capable of being locked therein by means of a cylinder block. In addition thereto, the projection can be placed into a recess provided in the fastening means thereby providing an additional safeguard against theft. As an alternative, the locking device can also be composed of two sections linked in the center or substantially in the center of the top region of the body and to which the free ends thereof can be fixed, preferably with lock and key, in the respective rim regions of the body.
In an embodiment of the present invention, a member having a U-shaped profile is imbedded in the base member for forming a slit wherein the free ends of the legs face each other. The slit is enlarged preferably in the region of the ends. One can then place the fastening means into the slit for baggage grids, surfboard supports or the like, as well as the mounting members of aerodynamically sound configuration having projections on the bottom surface so that lateral travel in the slits is initially permitted. The projections are designed in such a manner that removal is possible only in the region of the slit enlargements. As an alternative thereto, the projection on the bottom face can, of course, be pivoted by means of a mountable tool. Thus, the projection can assume two positions; e.g. in the first position the U-shaped member cannot be removed from the slit, whereas in the other position mounting or removal is possible.
The mounting members with respect to each other, can be arranged in such a manner that they will contact each other and thus several mounting members will form a continuous unit. Alternately, the mounting members can be arranged at a distance relative to each other. The latter arrangement is an advantage if skis, for example, are to be transported in the space formed therebetween so that additional holding means will not be required.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the mounting members can be covered with at least one retaining clip. The clip is preferably U-shaped and on its free legs defines foot ends which approximately correspond to the dimension of the slits in their respective enlarged regions. This foot end section is followed by a tapered section in order to enable the cup to travel longitudinally along the slit. In other words, the foot end must first be inserted in the slit enlargement and moved in the direction of the bottom of the profile material in order to permit subsequent longitudinal displacement of the clip.
Preferably, two such retaining clips sequentially are provided to span the mounting members. The vertically extending legs on the inner surface relative to the slit are preferably hinged to the remaining parts of the clip. This has the advantage that one leg of the clip can remain anchored in the slit, in order to permit removal of e.g. skis while the other leg is pivoted away to permit access to the skis. The angular adjustment of the horizontal and outer vertically disposed leg should be established by a prestressed spring so that a bias force will be exerted to only permit an angular adjustment of 45 so that the outer leg can be grasped and anchored again without any difficulties.
In order to make the carrier theft-proof and equip it with only one lock, in a further embodiment of the present invention the slit enlargements are arranged at a distance inwardly to the ends of the slits so that the bows are displaceable into an end position of the slit in such a manner that only one of the slit englargements is accessible. A cylindrical lock can then be inserted into the accessible slit enlargement. In other words, the cups are moved in the slit in such a manner that after locking one of the slit enlargements, the cups cannot be further moved so that the foot ends cannot be removed from the other slit enlargement.
To provide the mounting members with an aerodynamically-sound configuration, the mounting members are each wedge-shaped in cross section. The surface on the side of the oncoming air (front) is convex while the rear surface thereof is composed of two convex and/or almost rectilinear or rectilinear partial surfaces. The transition (in the form of steps) is horizontal or almost horizontal sections into which the horizontally disposed leg of the clip can be placed.
As least at the front and lateral edges of the carrier are surrounded by a rubber strip. The respective front and lateral edges of the body or base member is steeply ascending starting from the horizontal and at an almost parallel position relative to the outer section of the car roof. The corresponding rubber strip, toward the roof side has an arched bottom surface for providing a suction effect, a front (longer) leg and a rear (shorter) leg. Thus, the outer surface of the rear leg is steeper than the outer surface of the front leg. Further, the legs terminate in a center region and define a hollow space so as to obtain a prestress in direction to the base member or the body. By the special design of the rubber strip, it is guaranteed that when the carrier rests upon the roof of a motor vehicle, it is practically immoveable. The legs and the center region defining the hollow space act as a shock absorber and thus it is guaranteed that the rubber strip itself will stabilize the carrier arrangement from forward movement upon impact of the vehicle so that it will not be dislodged therefrom.
Further, the body or the base member can be cuplike hollow bodies which are preferably made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic. There is also a possiblity that the body or the base member can be permanently fixed onto the roof by screws.
In accordance with the present invention, a novel carrier arrangement is provided having only a minimal negative influence on the air resistance of a moving motor vehicle. Consequently, the driving comfort of a motor vehicle equipped with such a carrier will not be adversely affected. When compared to known roof carriers, the carrier arrangement according to the present invention will further result in energy savings and thus a reduction of fuel consumption. Moreover, the carrier arrangement of this invention can be mounted on motor vehicles which do not have any gutters or overlapping doors.